Play-Calling Transparency: Eliah Drinkwitz, Jimbo Fisher take different approaches at SEC Media Days

Offensive-minded head coaches want to call plays. Those play-calling chops got them to this point in the first place. But sometimes changes need to be made.

Adjustments are required in big-time college football. Eliah Drinkwitz and Jimbo Fisher both realized that changes need to be made at Missouri and Texas A&M.

Drinkwitz oversaw an offense that finished No. 87 in yards per play (5.4) and No. 85 in points per drive (1.92). At Texas A&M, Fisher oversaw an offense that finished No. 61 in yards per play (5.7) and No. 97 in points per drive (1.73). Inefficiency on the offensive end led to a losing season in CoMo and College Station.

Each head coach has some wiggle room thanks to a stable contract, but the seat could warm quickly if the offense doesn’t start producing. Drinkwitz and Fisher decided to make a change and give up the call sheet in 2023. One was very transparent on Monday, and another was defensive.

Eliah Drinkwitz admits failure

This offseason, Eliah Drinkwitz decided to let go of the offensive reins. The former Appalachian State head coach turned to Kirby Moore, who just finished his first season as the offensive coordinator at Fresno State. When asked about giving up play-calling for the first time in his head coaching career, Drinkwitz realized that it was what was best for the team following a disappointing season and entering a critical year four at Missouri.

“We have a sign in our team room that says ’embrace your role, put the team first.’ At the end of the season, it was clear to me that we were ineffective on the offensive side of the ball, and it starts with being retrospective on what do you do as the leader of the team,” Drinkwitz told the main room on Monday afternoon at SEC Media Days. “As the leader of the offensive side of the ball, what are the issues? I wasn’t giving us the best advantage that we could have offensively to be successful. So it was my estimation that I needed to embrace my role more as the head coach and do the things that needed to be done there and turn over the play-calling to somebody else. I do not plan on calling plays. I plan on being involved on the offensive side of the ball just like I am on special teams and on the defensive side of the ball as the CEO of the organization.”

The show will be Moore’s to run this season. The younger brother of Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, there is pedigree and strong coaching chops after working under both Kalen DeBoer and Jeff Tedford at Fresno State. Drinkwitz was very open when talking about this critical decision for his football organization.

After making a strong hire allowing Blake Baker to run the defense last season, Drinkwitz is hoping that the 31-year-old Moore can make a similar impact on offense. The 40-year-old head coach is attempting to pivot at a very important point in his coaching career.

Jimbo Fisher won’t admit he’s letting go of the play sheet

Things got ugly last year in College Station. The Aggies dropped a home game to Appalachian State, were trounced by Mississippi State, dropped a road game to South Carolina, couldn’t beat Alabama’s backup quarterback, and got hammered by Florida at home. The Aggies put up just 22.8 points per game and suffered a six-game losing streak to drop to 3-7 before closing the year with consecutive home wins over UMass and LSU.

The heat is being turned up on the coach with a fully guaranteed contract. Fisher took his time with an offensive coordinator search but ultimately landed Bobby Petrino in January. The former Florida State head coach then dodged questions at SEC Media Days on what Petrino’s role will be.

“I’m not going to get into what we’re doing, how we’re doing it. Again, I’m not trying to
avoid anything, Fishers said in Nashville on Monday. “I just don’t want to create — you create advantages and narratives out there for what goes on.”

“He’ll call a lot of — hopefully he’ll call the game. We’ll have suggestions on things we do, whether it’s offense or defense. Every coach is always involved. It’s a more collective thing than people want to give it room for, but when you get to calling and you get on a roll, you’ve got to have a guy that can do it, and I think Bobby can definitely do that, and does it as well as anybody in college football.”

That is some word salad to the highest degree. Instead of admitting fault and that there needs to be change made, Fisher is sidestepping questions and refusing to admit that Petrino is the one running the offense in College Station.

Two different approaches

Missouri and Texas A&M both made the move from the Big 12 to the SEC at the same time, but it’s clear that these are two different jobs. Expectations are lower in Columbia, but each coach is trying to do the same thing — win games.

Eliah Drinkwitz and Jimbo Fisher are taking different approaches to the same problem despite having the same solution.

Drinkwitz is admitting fault and that this pivot away from play-calling is what the program needs. Fisher still hasn’t given Bobby Petrino a full public vote of confidence and will not confirm that he won’t be heavily involved in the play-calling approach. However, both approaches don’t have to be wrong.

Regardless of the decision or public message, the results will be the results for both. If the offense tanks at either program, there could be a coaching change coming.